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Reporting Live from the 20th Century!
Students read and write newspaper articles. For this newspaper article writing lesson, students collect and share current news articles, examine how they are written, then choose an event from the 20th century and write their own news...
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A Colony is Born : Lesson 4 - What Went Wrong?
Fifth graders compare and contrast two early colonies and make a T chart. They list examples of worked well and what did not, and significant historical events. They use higher order thinking skills by deducing how different scenarios...
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A Colony is Born : Lesson 6 -To Leave or Not to Leave
Fifth graders connect reasons for coming to the New World with identity. The create identities and place them in one of three settled regions. They refer to prior study notes in their Colonial Notebooks to establish their identities.
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A Colony is Born : Lessons 7 - 10 What's My Line?
Fifth graders research their assigned regions, complete regional guide and prepare presentations about the New World colonists. They refer to "Everyday LIfe: Colonial Times" as well as searching marked internet sites.
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Hands-On Investigation!
Students read, analyze, and solve a mystery using problem-solving skills.  They explore the History Detective website, discuss the difference between clues and red herrings, complete a dot-to-dot sheet, take notes in a detective...
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Democracy through Parliamentary Committees / Lessons 2 : Selecting and Studying a Specific Bill
High schoolers appreciate and respect the advantages of Canada's parliamentary system. They engage in a instructional activity which illustrates the important role committees play in drafting bills.
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Citizens and the Media / Lesson : 3 Compare and Contrast Daily Newspapers for fact, opinion and bias
Students compare and contrast a variety of daily newspapers in order to detect bias. They critically analyze the role the media plays in responsibly reporting government activities.
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Examine Persuasive Elements by Reading, Analyzing, and Discussing Persuasive Text
Learners identify persuasive strategies and analyze arguments. In this persuasive writing lesson plan, students read "Chief Red Jacket's Reply" and "Reverend Cram's Speech to the Iroquois Nation" and chart major elements of each...
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History: Impact of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Pupils formulate theories about the Lewis and Clark Expedition about its purpose and impact on America.  They write position papers supported with facts discovered in their research.  Students include quotes, factual references, maps,...
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Geography: Islands and Alcatraz
Students, in groups, create maps of islands including map keys and compass roses. They compare and contrast their island communities with that of the island prison, Alcatraz. Students select from a series of projects, including writing...
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Riding the Pony Express
Fourth graders list the four W's of the Pony Express. They also write an article about Buffalo Bill Cody and discuss the important facts about the Pony Express.
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LOOKING AT A CHARACTER
Second graders investigate self- and teacher-selected literature (e.g., picture books, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, poems,  legends) from a variety of cultures. They re-enact and retell stories, songs, poems, plays, and other literary...
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My Brother Sam is Dead: A study of the Revolutionary War
Fifth graders complete an analysis of the Revolutionary War through literature.  After "My Brother Sam Is Dead,"  students create a time capsule containing items that would be relevant during the Revolutionary War.  They identify key...
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Identifying the Theme in a Story
Students recognize Theme through the use of simple, short stories. Using Pro Quest, students begin by researching the literary element, theme, and how it can be identified. They then identify the themes in Aesop's Fables and...
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Rosa Parks Autobiography
Students write the story of Rosa Parks from the perspective of someone who was sitting on the bus that day.  In this Rosa Parks/biography lesson, students read the story of Rosa Parks and discuss it in small groups.  After...
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Star Politics
Students discuss the advantages of a celebrity running for a public office.  After reading an article, they examine the results of the California governor recall vote.  In groups, they research the aspirations and career of a celebrity...
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Hurricane Katrina: You Be the Reporter
Students work in a small group to create news stories, feature stories and editorials/letters to the editor and organize them in a podcast, video-based program, or newspaper/magazine focused on Hurricane Katrina.
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Analytical Essay
What is an analytical essay? Introduce this type of thinking to your young writers. First, discuss what it means to analyze something. Then, identify the different components of an essay and what details are embedded in each component....
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Writing an Analytical Essay From a Supreme Court Case
Critical thinkers read a summary of a United States Supreme Court case, including important background information and the court's final decision. They form an opinion in agreement or disagreement regarding the case and then write an...
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Inference Lesson Plan
Pupils practice assessing graphics to infer and identify an author's implicit and explicit meaning in a piece of text. They evaluate the effectiveness of information found in maps, charts, tables, graphs, diagrams, cutaways and through...
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Strong Convictions
How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...
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Creative Inventions
Ninth graders develop ideas for an invention and write a persuasive essay explaining why their invention is best. In this invention essay lesson, 9th graders review persuasive essay writing. Students create a graphic web for an original...
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What Type of Community?
Students compare and contrast suburban, rural and urban communities.  They read books such as The Little Red Hen and identify the type of community in each book.  Using computer software, they write about each type of community and...
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The "State" of ABC's
Fifth graders apply the ABC format to write books about various states. They identify important people, places, and events and include title. copyright, and dedication pages. They have items for all letters and createcovers and "about...